Trespasser Fatally Shot After Stabbing Metro Security Guard: Authorities

HOLLYWOOD, CA — A man accused of stabbing a security guard at a Metro station in Hollywood died after he was shot by a guard at the subway stop Tuesday morning, according to authorities.

Officers and paramedics were dispatched to the Vermont/Sunset B Line station at around 9:10 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Fire Department.

The incident began when a Metro security guard encountered a trespasser in a non-public area of the station during a routine sweep of the facility, Metro said in a statement.

"This resulted in an altercation where contract security guards first utilized pepper spray and then after the trespasser stabbed one of the contract security guards in the leg, a contract security guard fired a weapon in self-defense," reads the statement.

"The trespasser did not survive his injuries," the statement continues.

The guard was transported to a local hospital in stable condition. It's unclear if the guard who shot the man was the same one who had been stabbed.

The trespasser was found about a block away at De Longpre and Vermont avenues. The man, who was in his 40s, was found unconscious and not breathing, KTLA reported.

The stabbing and shooting is the latest in a string of violent incidents that have plagued Metro recently.

On April 22, a woman was stabbed to death while getting off the strain at the Universal City/Studio City Metro B Line Station, in what authorities believe was an unprovoked attack.

Later that week, the Metro board declared a public safety emergency, which came after a series of attacks on bus drivers. Assaults on bus operators increased from 92 attacks in 2019 to 160 in 2023, and they continue to escalate this year, according to Metro.

City News Service contributed to this report.